September 10th, 1942 (THURSDAY)
UNITED KINGDOM: London: Churchill announces firm measures including the use of troops, to curb the "revolutionary" activities of the Congress Party in India.
NETHERLANDS: Individual RAF Bomber Command aircraft bomb Haamstede and Venlo Airfields.
GERMANY: During the night of 10/11 September RAF Bomber Command dispatches 479 aircraft, 242 Wellingtons, 89 Lancasters, 59 Halifaxes, 47 Stirlings, 28 Hampdens and 14 Whitleys, to bomb Düsseldorf; 365 bomb the target with the loss of 33 aircraft, 20 Wellingtons, five Lancasters, four Stirlings, three Halifaxes and a Hampden, 7.1 per cent of the force. The Pathfinders successfully marked the target, using 'Pink Pansies' in converted 4,000 pound (1 814 kilogram) bomb casings for the first time. All parts of Düsseldorf except the north of the city are hit as well as the neighbouring town of Neuss. Thirty nine industrial firms in Düsseldorf and 13 in Neuss are damaged so much that all production ceased for various periods. Eight public buildings are destroyed and 67 damaged. 911 houses are destroyed and 1,506 seriously and 8,340 lightly damaged. One hundred thirty two people are killed, 120 in Düsseldorf and 12 in Neuss; 116 further people are still classed as missing two days later and 19,427 people are bombed out. Individual aircraft bomb Gladbeck and Krefeld as targets if opportunity.
U-904 laid
down.
U-230 launched.
U-168 and
U-639 commissioned.
U.S.S.R.: Novorossisk is captured by units of the V.A.K. (9 Inf. Div., 73 Inf. Div., 125 Inf. Div.) (Jeff Chrisman)
MADAGASCAR: Allied troops have begun an advance to occupy all of this Vichy-French colony. Last May the Allies occupied the port of Diego Suarez, to forestall its use by Japan's navy. Now the Allies claim that Japanese submarines have been using Madagascar as a fuelling base - an accusation which Vichy denies. Vichy Governor General Annet after five months of talks fails to win guarantees of non-cooperation with the Japanese. The British 29th Infantry Brigade has landed at Majunga, on the west coast, followed by the 22nd East African Brigade. They are pushing on to the capital, Tananarive, while the 7th South African Brigade advances from Diego Suarez.
The Australian destroyer HMAS Napier (G 97) enters the port of Morandava on the west coast and lands 50 commandoes. The Vichy French defenders fire a few rounds and then surrender.
The Free French are promised that the administration of the colony will be turned over to them once operation is completed.
NEW GUINEA: On the Kokoda Track in Papua New Guinea, some Australian troops move north on the track
SOLOMON ISLANDS: A second
airstrip, Fighter One, becomes operational on Guadalcanal. Fighter One is a
grassy field that will be used by USN and USMC F4F Wildcats and USAAF P-400
Airacobras.
In the air, the IJN dispatches 27 "Bettys"
(Mitsubishi G4M, Navy Type 1 Attack Bombers) and 15 "Zekes"
(Mitsubishi A6M, Navy Type 0 Carrier Fighters) to bomb Guadalcanal. They are met
by 5 USMC F4F Wildcats which shoot down 5 "Bettys" with the loss of a
Wildcat. The Americans now have only 12 serviceable fighters on Guadalcanal.
TERRITORY OF ALASKA: Aleutians: Weather, photo reconnaissance, and patrol missions are flown by the US 11th Air Force during the morning over Nazan Bay, Tanaga, Adak and Amchitka Islands; poor weather is encountered at Kiska, Attu, and Agattu Islands.
CANADA: Corvette HMCS Lethbridge arrived Liverpool, Nova Scotia for refit.
TERRITORY OF ALASKA: ALEUTIAN ISLANDS: Weather, photo reconnaissance, and patrol missions are flown by the USAAF 11th Air Force during the morning over Nazan Bay of Atka Island; and Tanaga, Adak and Amchitka Islands; poor weather is encountered at Agattu Island and Japanese-held Kiska, and Attu Islands.
U.S.A.: The German submarine U-69 lays 12 mines at the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay.
The Baruch Commission, tasked with investigating the availability of rubber, warns of military and civilian collapse due to a shortage of rubber in the U.S. As a result, the government mandates gasoline rationing in the U.S. to limit the amount of driving thus saving rubber required for tires.
ATLANTIC OCEAN: Convoy ON-127 (U.K. to North America), consisting of 32 merchant ships escorted by the Canadian destroyers HMCS St. Croix (I 81, ex USS McCook (DD-252)] and HMCS Ottawa (H 60). three Canadian corvettes, HMCS Amherst (K 148), Arvida (K 113) and Sherbrooke (K 152) and the British corvette HMS Celandine (K 75), are tracked by the 12 U-boats of wolfpack Vorwarts. Over the next 4 days, 12 freighters and 1 destroyer are sunk with a lost of one U-Boat.
At 1435 hours GMT, a 4,241 ton Belgian freighter, SS Elisabeth van Belgie,
and a 6,313 ton Norwegian tanker, SS Sveve, are struck by torpedoes fired by
U-96 and sink. At about 2300 hours GMT, a 8,029 ton British tanker, SS Empire
Oil, is hit by torpedoes fired by U-659
and sinks.
U-659 was damaged by depth charges and was forced to return to base.
U-96 also damages SS FJ Wolfe in Convoy ON-127.
The US freighter SS American Leader is sunk by the German auxiliary cruiser Michel (HSK-9) about 815 natuical miles (1,287 km) west of the Cape of Good Hope. 47 of the 58 men aboard survive and are taken aboard the German vessel and are turned over the Japanese in Singapore; 14 of the men die in Japanese prison camps.